1. Field of the Invention
The invention generally relates to photographic cameras having a window through which information on a film cassette or film backing may be viewed. More particularly, the invention relates to light seal apparatus for shielding film in such a camera from light entering the window.
2. Description of the Prior Art
It is well known to provide a window in the back of a camera for viewing film-related information on a cassette or the opaque backing of film in the cassette. In many 126 and 110 size cameras, the window is located in a back door, opposite an opening in a bridge portion of the cassette which connects the film supply and take-up chambers of the cassette. When the film is advanced along the bridge portion from the supply chamber to the take-up chamber, exposure numbers on the opaque backing behind the film are successively visible at the opening and may be viewed through the window. However, the emulsion side of a film section in the bridge portion must be shielded from light entering the window. This shielding should be done without covering the opening in the bridge portion and, typically, is by a labyrinth light-trap composed of elongate side walls on the bridge portion and mating wall structure on the inside of the camera.
In 35 mm cameras, the film is advanced out of a light-trapped film slot in a single chamber cassette and onto a rotatable take-up core. After exposure, the film usually has to be rewound into the cassette before the cassette is removed from the camera. Those cameras having a window in the back door, such as the Fujica cameras, manufactured by Fuji Photo Company, typically include a black sponge-like rubber light seal disposed about the window on the inside of the back door. When the door is closed, the window is located opposite the cassette to view film-related information on the cassette, and the light seal is compressed between the cassette and the back door to prevent light entering the window from reaching the film advanced out of the cassette.
Preferably, my invention allows film-related information on the cassette or the film backing to be viewed through the window, but is embodied in a camera having a bottom door, openable to load and unload the cassette. This is in contrast to the cameras described above, which use the back door for cassette-loading and unloading. In general, the bottom-loading cameras, of which I am aware, do not have window in the camera body for viewing film-related information on the cassette or the film backing. Rather, these cameras usually include exterior means for displaying such information, which is mechanically or electronically obtained by sensing indicia on the film or the cassette.